Department for Transport

Heathrow Airport

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions his Department has had with the management Heathrow Airport on the planned length of the third runway there.

Jesse Norman: As set out in the Statement of Approach on the revised draft Airports National Policy Statement (NPS), the Department cannot discuss the merits or contents of the NPS. The Department is currently considering responses to the consultations held on the draft and revised draft Airports NPS.

Shipping: Training

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding was made available to employers from the Support for Maritime Training (SMarT)budget for trainee seafarer ratings in (a) 2015-16 and (b) 2016-17; and what the take up for Ratings training through (i) SMarT 3 and (ii) SMarT5 was in each year.

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding was made available to employers from the Support for Maritime Training budget for rating to officer conversion training in (a) 2015-16 and (b) 2016-17; and what the take up was of that funding stream in each year.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: Although Support for Maritime Training (SMarT) has a fixed budget, funding continues to be allocated on the basis of demand. The figures in the tables below therefore reflect the level of demand, through SMarT 3 and SMarT 5, for ratings training and rating to officer conversion training, all has been met in full. Ratings Training SM3YearExpenditure (£)2015/1615402016/17486 Ratings Training SM5YearExpenditure (£)2015/1628382016/170 Rating to Officer Conversion TrainingYearExpenditure (£)2015/16250332016/177063

Shipping: Training

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to increase the number of seafarer ratings in training in each of the next five years.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: Work is underway in developing a range of rating apprenticeships which will deliver more routes into ratings training. The Deck Rating apprenticeship is now approved and the Maritime Caterer and Engine Room Rating apprenticeships are still under development. These apprenticeships, along with the levy, the tonnage tax ratings option and the challenge put to industry during London International Shipping Week to double the number of maritime apprenticeships will help stimulate increased demand for ratings. Coupled with this is the Ratings Taskforce of which the Department is an active member and a number of officials also attended the Ratings Seminar held in July last year. A range of actions were put forward by attendees and the Department looks forward to seeing the development of a Ratings Strategy by the Ratings Taskforce which will address some of these actions.

Shipping: Training

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect that the increase in funding for the Support for Maritime Training scheme will have on the number of (a) officers and (b) ratings in (i) training and (ii) employment in each of the next five years.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: For SMarT Plus, the agreement between Government and the maritime sector and unions is that in return for increased funding the industry will train more seafarers. It will also provide newly qualified SMarT Plus officers with 12 months sea time experience to enable them to gain their 2nd Certificate of Competency. The agreement is predicated on a graduated increase rising to 1200 cadets annually from 2021/22 onwards. Given the SMarT Plus proposal focused on increasing cadet numbers, no assessment has been made on the impact of the increase of SMarT funding on the number of ratings.

Railways: North West

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the potential financial merits of including in the Hope Valley improvement scheme an increase in express trains from Sheffield to Manchester from 2 to 4 trains an hour.

Joseph Johnson: The Department’s value for money assessment includes assumptions about the financial merits of increasing the number of fast trains on this route. This assessment will need to be refreshed as part of taking forward further work on this scheme. Decisions about future franchise changes will be assessed on their merits as part of this further work.

Railways: North West

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the effect of the Hope Valley line improvement scheme on economic growth in the area.

Joseph Johnson: On 13 February 2018, the Secretary of State announced his decision to provide Network Rail Infrastructure Limited with the legal powers to construct, operate and maintain new passing facilities and associated railway infrastructure on the Hope Valley route between Bamford and Hathersage and at Dore. The Department’s value for money assessment guidance includes guidance for the assessment of benefits to the economy.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Minimum Wage

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy of 7 February 2018, Official Report, Column 1504, on the Taylor Review, what the timetable is for the Low Pay Commission to consider the impact of a higher minimum wage.

Andrew Griffiths: The Government will ask the Low Pay Commission to produce advice in October 2018 on the impacts of the proposal to offer a premium over and above the National Minimum Wage to workers on contracts with variable hours. This commitment is made in the Government’s response to the Taylor Review, and a formal commission will be issued to the Low Pay Commission shortly.

Employment Agencies: Pay

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to amend statute to permit agencies to employ workers on cheaper rates; and if he will he make a statement.

Andrew Griffiths: As the Government clearly set out in its response to the Taylor review it is our intention to consult on the extent and scale of the issue to ensure the most appropriate response is adopted.

Conditions of Employment

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy of 7 February 2018, Official Report, Column 1497, on the Taylor Review, what powers the task force that is to be established to deal with the right to request contracts will have.

Andrew Griffiths: The taskforce announced in Government response to the Taylor Review is being established to look at flexible working and promote genuine flexibility in the workplace. It will involve joint work by Government and groups representing the interests of employers, workers and families to help unlock potential in the labour market, including amongst women, older workers, carers and disabled people. It is not the intention for it to consider the right to request contracts.

Conditions of Employment

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy of 7 February 2018, Official Report, column 1497, on the Taylor Review, what criteria his Department will use to define quality work.

Andrew Griffiths: As set out in our Industrial Strategy, which was published on 27 November last year, workers in Britain should expect to be treated well. We are starting a dialogue with experts to develop a common set of principles and measures against which to assess job quality and success, beginning with the aspects that we believe are foundational: overall worker satisfaction; good pay; participation and progression; wellbeing; safety and security; and voice and autonomy. Following these discussions we will publish a final list of measures by Autumn 2018.

Department of Health and Social Care

Nurses: Training

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many student nurses from outside the UK have received bursaries in the last four years.

Stephen Barclay: The Department does not hold this information.

Nurses: Training

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to increase routes into nursing.

Stephen Barclay: Broadening routes into nursing is a priority for the Department. That is why we have developed the new Nursing Associate role and the Nurse Degree Apprenticeship which will open up routes into the registered nursing profession for thousands of people from all backgrounds and allow employers to grow their own workforce. In 2017, 2,000 trainee Nursing Associates began training on a Health Education England pilot programme across 35 test sites in England. Applications to the pilots proved to be extremely popular with over 8,000 healthcare support workers applying for a place. Following success of the first year of Nursing Associate pilot programmes, my Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care announced in October 2017 plans to train 5,000 Nursing Associates through the apprentice route in 2018 and a further 7,500 in 2019.

Food: Labelling

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will make it mandatory for pre-packaged food to contain traffic light labelling on the front of the packaging.

Steve Brine: The United Kingdom-wide voluntary front of pack nutrition labelling scheme has been developed to be compliant with European Union legislation and has been voluntarily adopted by most UK food retailers and several manufacturers. The UK’s decision to leave the EU may give us an opportunity to develop greater flexibility, as the exit terms are agreed, to determine what information should be presented and how it should be displayed in the UK.

Accountable Care Organisations

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether it was the Government’s intention for Accountable Care Organisations to fall within the scope of the (a) National Health Service (Procurement, Patient Choice and Competition) (No2) Regulations 2013 and (b) Public Contract Regulations 2015 when sub-contracting for services.

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to page nine of the briefing document, STPs and accountable care, published by NHS Providers on 15 January 2018, what the four areas are where a procurement process to establish an accountable care organisation is underway; what stage each of those processes has reached; and if he will place a copy of any agreement or memorandum of understanding between those areas and NHS England and NHS Improvement in the Library.

Stephen Barclay: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 29 January to Question 123830. Procurement law applies in the same way where an Accountable Care Organisation contract is in place, as in all other circumstances.

Midwives: Complaints

Sir Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what timescales and processes are for investigating outstanding and unresolved complaints on midwifery malpractice in the NHS.

Stephen Barclay: The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is the independent regulator of nurses and midwives in the United Kingdom. If a complaint is made to the NMC about a registered midwife who may not meet the professional standards required to practise in the UK, the NMC has a duty to investigate and, where necessary, take action to safeguard the health and well-being of the public.

Department of Health and Social Care: Procurement

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 25 January 2018 to Question 123547, on Department of Health and Social Care: Procurement, what those contracts are; and what the value of each such contract is.

Stephen Barclay: The description and values of the contracts are shown in the table below. Strategic SupplierContractsDescriptionContract ValueATOS1IMS3 open service£96,000,000BT1Multiple Wide Area Network (WAN) – Ethernet services£6,700,000Capita1Contingent Labour£45,000,000CSC1Local Service Systems Provider£2,072,000,000DHL1NHS Supply Chain£1,801,000,000IBM1NHS HR, Payroll and Learning Management System£210,000,000Serco1Healthy Start Vouchers£12,106,732Total7 £4,242,806,732

Tobacco

Bob Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how he monitors observance by UK overseas posts of the revised guidance on support to the tobacco industry published in December 2013.

Bob Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to monitor adherence to the revised guidance to UK overseas posts on support to the tobacco industry, issued in December 2013, and if he will make a statement.

Steve Brine: The United Kingdom Government and UK officials overseas are committed to limiting interactions with the tobacco industry as part of Her Majesty’s Government’s obligations under the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. The Government has standing instructions to all diplomatic staff to follow the revised December 2013 guidelines on interactions with tobacco companies. In line with this guidance, assistance may be offered to counter discriminatory practices. The Government does not catalogue the representations it makes on behalf of companies.

Attorney General

Attorney General: Brexit

Hywel Williams: To ask the Attorney General, how much his Department plans to spend on projects relating to the UK leaving the EU in the next five years; and if he will list the projects to which that funding has been assigned.

Robert Buckland: The Attorney General's Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department for Education

Maintained Schools: Leeds

Alec Shelbrooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the amount held in reserves by maintained schools in the Leeds City Council local authority area in for 2017/18.

Nick Gibb: The Department trusts schools to manage their own budgets and the great majority have a cumulative surplus of funds, built up over a number of years. In 2016/17 206 local authority maintained schools in Leeds recorded a cumulative surplus, which totalled £31,553,748.

Children: Day Care

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number and proportion of childcare settings taking part in the 30 hour childcare scheme for 3 and 4 year old children with working parents; and if he provide that information by (a) private, voluntary and independent settings, (b) maintained settings and (c) childminders.

Nadhim Zahawi: The information requested is not held centrally. The January 2018 Early Years Census and School Census will collect data on the number of children taking up and the number of settings offering the extended entitlement for working parents. Data from these collections will published in the ‘Provision for Children Under 5’ statistical first release in June/July 2018

Home Education: Finance

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the £1.7 million awarded to organisations in the voluntary and community sectors to support evidence-based home learning, how much funding was received by each organisation; and what programmes that funding will support.

Nadhim Zahawi: Grants were awarded to the following organisations to work with disadvantaged communities, encourage the take up of two-year-olds places, and engage and work with parents to create a positive home learning environment between January 2017 and March 2018: The Family and Childcare Trust was allocated a grant of £417,165 to deliver their 'Parent Champions' programme with a focus on supporting disadvantaged families in rural areas, black and minority ethnic (BME) communities and those families with children with special educational needs and disabilities; Home Start UK was allocated a grant of £403,880 to pilot the ‘word pedometer’ developed by the US based LENA research foundation to provide disadvantaged families with coaching from trained home visiting volunteers to increase the quantity and quality of language interaction with babies and children under the age of three; The Institute of Wellbeing was allocated a grant of £450,000 with a focus on raising awareness on the benefits of early education, home learning environment and two-year-old programme. Activities include a targeted campaign via outreach for BME families unlikely to access statutory services, online accredited practitioner training to 'improve equality and inclusive practice and development of culturally tailored eLearning home learning environment parenting programme ‘Giving your child the right start’; A consortia of four organisations led by the National Literacy Trust was allocated a grant of £429,998. This grant funding breaks down as follows: - National Literacy Trust was allocated £153,330 to support disadvantaged children and families eligible for the two-year-old programme and strengthen the home learning environment with a programme called 'Early Words Together at Two'. - National Children’s Bureau was allocated £138,332 to support disadvantaged families to develop a positive home learning environment and to develop young children’s literacy skills using an adapted model of REAL (Raising Early Achievement in Literacy). - Peeple and Foundation Years Trust were allocated a total of £138,366 to support disadvantaged children to engage parents in their children’s learning in the home and add value to the two-year old programme using the 'Peep Learning Together programme'.

Children's Centres: Inspections

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many Ofsted emergency inspections of children's centres were triggered by safeguarding concerns in each year prior to September 2015 for which information is available.

Nadhim Zahawi: Ofsted is the non-ministerial government department responsible for the inspection of children’s centres where safeguarding concerns are raised.This is a matter for Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman. I have asked her to write to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Pre-school Education: Inspections

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Ofsted inspections of early years providers in evaluating the teaching provided and learning outcomes for children.

Nadhim Zahawi: The government is committed to driving up quality standards in the early years to give children the best start in life. Ofsted, as the regulator for this area, is Department for Education’s (DfE’s) key partner in delivering this and we have regular discussions with Ofsted at both ministerial and official level to continuously improve the regulatory regime as part of that strategy. The DfE was fully engaged when Ofsted reviewed the inspection regime and launched the Common Inspection Framework (CIF) in 2015. The CIF introduced separate judgements on the quality of teaching, learning and assessment and outcomes for children into early years inspections for the first time. Ofsted is currently reviewing its inspection arrangements, with a view to introducing a revised approach in September 2019. As with the current CIF, the DfE will be fully engaged in the review and design of the new arrangements for 2019.

Pre-school Education: Teachers

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the barriers to recruiting and retaining early years teachers; what steps his Department is taking to remove those barriers; and what the timetable is for those steps.

Nadhim Zahawi: The early years’ workforce strategy was published in March 2017 and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-workforce-strategy. It sets out government’s plans to help employers attract, retain and develop early years practitioners. The strategy outlines the barriers to recruiting and retaining graduate early years teachers, as well as the actions we are taking.

Schools: Asbestos

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will list those schools in each local authority area in England that have been found to have asbestos that is yet to be treated.

Nick Gibb: The Department does not hold information on those schools in each local authority (LA) area, in England, that have been found to have asbestos that is yet to be treated. Responsibility for managing asbestos in schools rests with the duty holder – in most cases, the LA or academy trust. The Department is fully committed to supporting schools, LAs and academy trusts to fulfil their duty to manage asbestos safely. In February 2017, the Department published a report of a voluntary survey of asbestos management in schools which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/asbestos-management-in-schools--2. The Department is developing plans to seek written assurance from all duty holders that their schools are compliant with existing legislation and guidance on the management of asbestos in schools.

Schools: Inspections

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment the Government has made of the potential effect on the provision of education when Ofsted inspections do not occur routinely due to a school going through the process of converting to academy status.

Nadhim Zahawi: When a maintained school is judged as inadequate, it receives an academy order requiring it to convert into an academy. Ofsted will not normally commence monitoring inspections during the conversion process. The exception to this is where safeguarding is judged ineffective, in which case inspectors may visit prior to the conversion taking effect, in order to ensure that pupils are safe. In cases where arrangements for planned conversion have not been confirmed six months after the academy order has been issued, the department will discuss the progress of the conversion with Ofsted, and Ofsted will decide whether to schedule a monitoring visit or to review the decision again at a future date. Once the maintained school has re-opened as an academy, Ofsted will not normally carry out an inspection until its third year of operation. The department believes an incoming sponsor should have sufficient time to turn around a failing school before Ofsted revisits. However, where there are significant concerns Ofsted may still decide to inspect before the school's third year of operation. In the case of a maintained school voluntarily converting to academy status, the pattern of routine Ofsted inspections is not affected.

Special Educational Needs: Hearing Impairment

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the trend in the number of specialist teachers for deaf children in (a) Yorkshire and (b) Wakefield district since 31 December 2017.

Nick Gibb: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Student Loans Company: Annual Reports

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the timetable is for the publication of the Student Loans Company's annual report for 2016-17.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The Student Loans Company has agreed an extended deadline of 31 March 2018 with Companies House and will file its annual report and accounts for 2016/17 before then. Copies will also be placed in the Libraries of both Houses at the same time.

Disabled Students' Allowances

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many disabled students allowance awards have been made to students in higher education in each year since 2015.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Statistics covering Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) payments to English students on higher education courses are published annually by the Student Loans Company (SLC) in the Statistical First Release (SFR) ‘Student Support for Higher Education in England’: http://www.slc.co.uk/official-statistics/financial-support-awarded/england-higher-education.aspx. Information covering DSA payments made to students on full-time undergraduate, part-time undergraduate, and postgraduate courses can be found in tables 3B, 5A, and 5B of the SFR respectively. The most recent DSAs data shows that, for full-time undergraduate students domiciled in England, 58,900 students had DSA payments made on their behalf in the 2015/16 academic year. Complete information for 2016/17 is not yet available, however provisional data show that around 54,900 have been paid – a 5% decline on the number paid in 2015/16 at the same point in the academic year. Final data for the 2016/17 academic year are due to be published by SLC in November 2018.

Pre-school Education: Teachers

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to increase the number of early years teachers.

Nadhim Zahawi: The department funds the Early Years Initial Teacher Training (EYITT) programme, which leads to Early Years Teacher Status. EYITT was introduced in September 2013 and builds on the achievements of its predecessor, the Early Years Professional Status. Early years teachers are specialists trained to deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage for children from birth to age five and provide pedagogical leadership in early years settings. To date over 16,000 specialist early years graduates have been trained.

Pre-school Education: Disadvantaged

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of children in receipt of the early years pupil premium achieved a good level of development in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Nadhim Zahawi: The information is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Agriculture: Education

Sir Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how his Department is promoting land-based colleges in rural areas; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: The Area Review programme enabled government to work closely with independent further education (FE) institutions, and as part of this the department worked closely with Landex to ensure that proper account was taken of the significance of land-based colleges and that sufficient provision could be consistently delivered across the country.The government wants to make sure that the agricultural sector has the right skills. The department is reforming technical education, which will include the introduction of a ‘T Level’ route in agriculture, environment and animal care.The competition to establish prestigious new Institutes of Technology will specialise in technical disciplines, including sectors that are important to rural areas, such as agri-tech and food manufacturing.Apprenticeship standards already exist in land-based service engineering, and there are a number of further standards in development - including crop technician, farrier, poultry technician and stockperson.FE colleges are of particular interest to MPs, and the FE Commissioner runs a weekly ‘telephone surgery’ for MPs. They run every Wednesday, while the House is sitting, from 9.00 - 10.30am. MPs should email FE.Commissioner@education.gov.uk to book a slot.

Children: Obesity

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps his Department has taken to tackle obesity levels in children in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools.

Nadhim Zahawi: Through the primary physical education (PE) and sport premium, the government has invested over £600 million of ring-fenced funding to primary schools to improve PE and sport since 2013. The government has doubled the premium to £320 million a year from September 2017, using revenue from the Soft Drinks Industry Levy. £100 million of revenue generated from the Soft Drinks Industry Levy will be used for the Healthy Pupils Capital Fund in 2018-19. This fund is intended to improve children’s and young people’s physical and mental health by enhancing access to facilities for physical activity, healthy eating, mental health and wellbeing and medical conditions. These facilities include kitchens, dining facilities, changing rooms, playgrounds and sports facilities. We are investing a further £26 million in a breakfast club programme, over the next three years, using funds from Soft Drinks Industry Levy revenues. This money will kick-start or improve breakfast clubs in at least 1,500 schools, with a focus on increasing provision for disadvantaged pupils in Opportunity Areas. The programme will also deliver innovation projects, with the aim of testing solutions to delivery and access barriers, and enhancing the health and education benefits.

Teachers: Training

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the School Direct route into teaching.

Nick Gibb: The Initial teacher training (ITT) recruitment and performance data shows School Direct makes a valuable contribution towards the teacher workforce. In the academic year 2017/18, there were 10,070 new entrants to School Direct courses, making up 36% of the total number of entrants to post-graduate ITT. In the academic year 2015/2016, 93% of trainee teachers on School Direct courses achieved Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and 96% of those who qualified were in a teaching post within six months. This compares favourably to trainees on Higher Education Institution courses, with 90% awarded QTS and 93% of those who qualified being in a teaching post within six months.

Teachers: Training

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many non-repayable bursaries the Government has allocated to support trainee teachers in the last year; and what the value was of those bursaries.

Nick Gibb: In the academic year 2016/17, the Government awarded 16,637 bursaries to post graduate trainee teachers at a cost of £191,022,000. In addition, 326 scholarships were awarded at a cost of £8,725,000.

Teachers: Migrant Workers

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of state school teachers in England were recruited from EU countries.

Nick Gibb: The information requested is not held centrally.

Teachers: Recruitment

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps the Government has taken to encourage professionals into teaching.

Nick Gibb: The Government is investing in Now Teach, a programme that encourages senior professionals to put their skills to use in the classroom through a career change. The Department is supporting the charity to help expand its reach and to recruit more teachers across the country. Now Teach focuses on attracting teachers in subjects that are harder to recruit, such as mathematics, science and modern foreign languages. In 2017/18 49 per cent of Initial Teacher Training entrants were 25 or over, and the school direct salaried (SDS) programme has had particular success attracting entrants who have experienced other careers. In 2017/18 80 per cent of entrants via the SDS programme were 25 or older. Investment has also increased in the Your Future | Their Future marketing campaign, targeting talented graduates and professionals considering a career change to train as a teacher. This has involved significantly expanding the Department’s programme of events taking place across the country as well as telephone and personal adviser support services.

Teachers: Labour Turnover

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to improve the retention rate of teachers in England.

Nick Gibb: The Department is firmly committed to addressing the issues that teachers say make them consider leaving teaching.The Department continues to work with the sector to remove practices that create unnecessary workload and to develop a workload reduction toolkit.The Department published guidance in February 2017 to help schools and employers to encourage, support, and enable flexible working requests.The Department is piloting a new approach for mathematics trainee teachers to test whether offering a proportion of the bursary as a retention incentive remains as effective in encouraging candidates to train to teach. The teachers’ student loan reimbursement scheme is also a pilot programme aimed at increasing recruitment and retention in areas of greatest need. All eligible teachers will be able to apply for a reimbursement on their student loan payments made in the first 10 years of their careers, and can receive up to £1,350 in payments.

Teachers: Recruitment

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much money his Department has spent on advertising for teacher recruitment in each year since 2010.

Nick Gibb: The estimated amount spent on the Get into Teaching campaign since 2010-11 is in the attached table. These estimates include advertising campaign costs, such as production and purchased media space in TV, newspapers, online and social media.



Estimated expenditure Get into Teaching campaign
(Word Document, 12.43 KB)

Education: Finance

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much revenue support has been provided by his Department to (a) Baker Dearing Educational Trust, (b) New Schools Network and (c) Studio Schools Trust in each financial year since 2009.

Anne Milton: The Baker Dearing Educational Trust (BDT) receives a grant from the Department for Education to provide advice, guidance and pre-approval support to proposer groups developing applications to establish University Technical Colleges.New Schools Network (NSN) receives a grant from the department, which it uses to support the free schools programme and to provide the Academy Ambassadors Service, which finds senior business figures to join academy trust boards as non-executive directors.BDT’s and NSN’s annual accounts are available from Companies House webpages at https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/07390138/filing-history and https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/06953650/filing-history respectively. The accounts include details of their incomes, including grant funding from the department.No government funding was ever provided to the Studio Schools Trust.

Schools: Mental Health Services

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Government has made an assessment of the (a) efficacy and (b) experiences of Designated Safeguarding Leads in schools in advance of the introduction of Designated Mental Health Leads in schools.

Nick Gibb: The Department has not made a specific assessment of the efficacy and effectiveness of Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSLs). Guidance for inspectors reflects the requirements for DSLs and inspectors report on whether arrangements in schools for safeguarding children are effective. The green paper ‘Transforming Children and Young People’s Mental Health provision’ proposes to incentivise schools and colleges to put in place a Designated Senior Lead for mental health. Around half of schools already have a dedicated lead for mental health. The green paper proposal leaves flexibility for schools to decide on the role that the mental health lead should play and how it fits with the safeguarding lead and commits to review how schools’ approaches to mental health and wellbeing is reflected in existing statutory policies, including safeguarding. The paper is available to view here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/transforming-children-and-young-peoples-mental-health-provision-a-green-paper. An independent evaluation of the Government’s mental health services and schools link programme showed that school leads working with counterparts in the NHS have had considerable success in strengthening joint working and improving referrals between schools and health services. The independent evaluation is available to view here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/590242/Evaluation_of_the_MH_services_and_schools_link_pilots-RR.pdf.

Special Educational Needs: Finance

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how mainstream schools are held to account for the use of SEND funding; and whether the Government plans to ring-fence that funding.

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department takes to ensure that learners on SEND support in mainstream settings are prioritised by school leadership.

Nadhim Zahawi: The department expects schools to use their full budget to provide the best possible education for all their pupils, including those with Special Educational Needs (SEN). The department believes that headteachers are best placed to make decisions about how to spend their budgets, and have no plans to ring-fence SEN funding. Schools are held to account for the progress their pupils make through the school accountability system and Ofsted inspection. There is a robust SEN system in place, that has been strengthened still further in recent years. The department has high expectations of schools over the support they should provide to pupils with SEN, and these can be seen for example in the statutory duties on schools to:use their best endeavours to make provision for a pupil’s SEN.have a SEN Co-ordinator with a Masters level specialist qualification.publish a SEN Information Report setting out how they implement their SEN policy.comply with the Equality Act 2010. The government takes account of the implications for pupils with SEN and disabilities whenever new policies are developed. For example, the introduction of Progress 8 and new primary progress measures have strengthened the expectations on schools to support the progress of all their pupils, thereby adding greater weight to the effectiveness of the support schools provide to their pupils with SEN.

Special Educational Needs: Teachers

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that SEND is a fundamental part of strengthening Qualified Teacher Status.

Nick Gibb: The Department is currently consulting on all aspects of the proposals to strengthen Qualified Teacher Status. As part of this, we have proposed introducing an early career content framework for newly qualified teachers, and have suggested that special educational needs and disabilities could be a key element of this framework. The consultation is currently open and we will aim to publish a response by summer 2018.

Special Educational Needs

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to improve career progression opportunities for special educational needs coordinators and SEND specialists; and whether he plans to include those roles in his Department's consultation, Strengthening qualified teacher status and career progression, published on 15 December 2017.

Nadhim Zahawi: Special educational needs Co-ordinators (SENCO)s play an essential role in schools, supporting teaching staff to meet the needs of pupils with Special educational needs (SEN) and ensuring that schools have a clear and effective approach to inclusive education. All maintained mainstream nurseries, schools and academies (including free schools) are required to have a named SENCO who is a qualified teacher. To support their development, SENCOs must undertake the National Award in SEN Coordination award within three years of taking up role. The SENCO has an important role to play with the headteacher and governing body, in determining the strategic development of SEN policy and provision in the school. They will be most effective in that role if they are part of the school leadership team.  As part of the consultation to strengthen Qualified Teacher Status, we have proposed introducing an early career content framework for all newly qualified teachers, and have suggested that SEND could be a key element of this framework. The consultation is currently open and we will use the responses to help understand how to best support those interested in becoming SEND specialists. We aim to publish a response by summer 2018.

Carillion: Insolvency

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effect of the liquidation of Carillion on schools in Liverpool Walton constituency.

Nick Gibb: The Government’s priority has been to ensure schools can continue to operate as usual. The Government is supporting the Official Receiver, so that services to schools and other public services can continue to be delivered. Local authorities and academy trusts are responsible for their own contracts. The Government has, however, planned extensively and has been working with local authorities and academy trusts to make sure contingency plans are being implemented, if required. Information available to the Department indicates that the number of local authority and academy trust schools covered under catering, facilities management or other service contracts with Carillion is relatively low. The Department is continuing to monitor the situation and will work with schools to help minimise any disruption for pupils.

Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that all schools teach awareness of violence against women and girls.

Nick Gibb: The Government is ensuring young people have the knowledge to challenge attitudes about abuse and consent. The Home Office’s campaign “Disrespect NoBody” aims to prevent the onset of domestic violence in adults by challenging attitudes and behaviours amongst teenage boys and girls.The Department is considering how best to ensure pupils are taught about healthy and respectful relationships as part of Relationships Education in primary and Relationships and Sex Education in secondary schools. The Department has been engaging with a broad range of expert organisations, and via a public call for evidence, about the potential content for these compulsory subjects and in considering whether to make Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education compulsory. The Department will formally consult on draft regulations and guidance before laying regulations in the House for debate.Schools and colleges must have regard to statutory guidance Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. KCSIE states that schools should ensure children are taught about safeguarding, including online safety.

Teachers: Liverpool Walton

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number of unqualified teachers in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in Liverpool Walton constituency in each year since 2010.

Nick Gibb: The full time equivalent number and percentage of unqualified teachers in state funded primary and secondary schools in the Liverpool Walton constituency is shown in the table attached.



FTE no of unqualified teachers in Liverpool Walton
(Word Document, 14.19 KB)

Schools: Labour Turnover

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the public sector pay cap on the recruitment and retention of staff in schools in (a) the UK, (b) the North West and (c) Liverpool Walton constituency.

Nick Gibb: The public sector pay cap is no longer in place and we have adopted a more flexible approach to public sector pay. The Department set out in their latest remit to the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) that they should utilise this flexibility to target the next pay award to promote recruitment and retention. The fundamental changes to teachers’ pay that have been introduced over the last four years following the STRB’s recommendations have given greater autonomy to schools to decide how to reward their staff. This increased flexibility helps schools to attract and retain the best teachers and to target any school-level recruitment and retention problems they may have, including in specific subjects.

Children's Centres: Liverpool Walton

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effect of the closure of Sure Start children’s centres on the school readiness of children in Liverpool Walton constituency.

Nadhim Zahawi: Due to the wide range of services that affect educational outcomes for young children, it is not possible to draw a causal link between children’s centre services and a child’s educational attainment. Early Years Foundation Stage Profile (EYFSP) results show that the proportion of young children achieving a good level of development at age five has increased across Liverpool 2010. EYFSP results from 2009-10 to 2016-17 are published at:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-early-years-foundation-stage-profile. If a council decides to close a children’s centre, statutory guidance is clear that they should demonstrate that local children and families would not be adversely affected and local areas continue to have sufficient children’s centres to meet their needs.

Universities: Disadvantaged

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of people from lower socio-economic backgrounds applying to university.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Widening participation is a central priority for this government. The department will continue to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to benefit from a university education, regardless of background or where they grew up. University application rates for 18-year-olds to full-time study remain at record levels, including those from disadvantaged areas. The independent Office for Fair Access, led by the Director of Fair Access (DfA), is the regulator currently responsible for widening access to higher education (HE) in England (a function that will soon transfer to the Office for Students). HE providers wishing to charge tuition fees above the basic fee level must have an Access Agreement, setting out their targets and planned expenditure to improve access for disadvantaged and under-represented groups, and approved by the DfA. The department is introducing sweeping reforms through legislation. The Office for Students (OfS) will have a statutory duty to promote equality of opportunity, across the whole lifecycle for disadvantaged students, not just access. As a result, widening access and participation will be at the core of the OfS’ functions. The department’s reforms will introduce a Transparency Duty requiring HE providers to publish application, offer, acceptance, dropout and attainment rates of students by ethnicity, gender and socio-economic background. This will help to hold the sector to account for their record on access and retention of students from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

Social Mobility

Jo Platt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department has taken to co-ordinate cross-Whitehall working to increase social mobility in response to the recommendations of the Social Mobility Commission report, State of the Nation 2017: Social Mobility in Great Britain.

Nadhim Zahawi: We welcome the Social Mobility Commission’s annual reports to Parliament. Social mobility is a cross-government priority. The government’s Industrial Strategy, published in November, sets out a clear plan to boost prosperity and productivity by focusing on places and people. We are also boosting salaries through the introduction of the National Living Wage, creating more full-time, permanent jobs, and investing in affordable housing. Together, these policies will improve lives and tackle injustice in society. In December, the department published ‘Unlocking Talent, Fulfilling Potential’, a plan for improving social mobility through education. Government departments across Whitehall were engaged in the policy development and drafting of this document. We are also investing £72 million in 12 Opportunity Areas, to focus effort on areas of the country with the greatest challenges and fewest opportunities. The Commission identified all 12 of these areas as social mobility coldspots in its 2016 Social Mobility Index.

Ministry of Justice

Bedford Prison

Mohammad Yasin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many additional days of imprisonment were imposed as punishment on prisoners at HM Prison Bedford during 2016?

Rory Stewart: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 28 November 2017.The correct answer should have been:

During 2016, there were 26 instances of additional days awarded as a punishment following an adjudication at HM Prison Bedford, totalling 411 additional days.The number of additional days awarded to prisoners at HM Prison Bedford as a result of adjudications in 2016 was 26. Discipline procedures are central to the maintenance of a safe custodial environment. They are provided for by the Prison and Young Offender Institution Rules, which require adjudications to be conducted lawfully, fairly and justly. Independent Adjudicators are District Judges or Deputy District Judges who attend prisons and young offender institutions when necessary to hear those adjudication cases which are deemed to be sufficiently serious. Such cases may merit a punishment of additional days to a prisoner’s time spent in custody if the prisoner or young person is found guilty. Only Independent Adjudicators can make an award of additional days as a punishment. The most serious offences will be referred to the Police.

Mr Sam Gyimah: During 2016, there were 26 instances of additional days awarded as a punishment following an adjudication at HM Prison Bedford, totalling 411 additional days.The number of additional days awarded to prisoners at HM Prison Bedford as a result of adjudications in 2016 was 26. Discipline procedures are central to the maintenance of a safe custodial environment. They are provided for by the Prison and Young Offender Institution Rules, which require adjudications to be conducted lawfully, fairly and justly. Independent Adjudicators are District Judges or Deputy District Judges who attend prisons and young offender institutions when necessary to hear those adjudication cases which are deemed to be sufficiently serious. Such cases may merit a punishment of additional days to a prisoner’s time spent in custody if the prisoner or young person is found guilty. Only Independent Adjudicators can make an award of additional days as a punishment. The most serious offences will be referred to the Police.

Berwyn Prison

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information his Department holds on the number of cells rendered out of use due to damage caused by prisoners at HMP Berwyn since its opening.

Rory Stewart: Since opening in Spring 2017, there have been a total of 46 rooms rendered out of use due to damage by their occupants at HMP Berwyn. As of Friday 09 February 2018 the current number of rooms rendered out of use is 16.

Berwyn Prison

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information his Department holds on the number of staff in bands two to five who have (a) resigned, (b) been regraded, (c) been transferred or (d) been dismissed from HMP Berwyn since its opening.

Rory Stewart: Published workforce statistics show that there were a total of 583 full time equivalent staff in post at HMP Berwyn as at 30 September 2017. The number of band 2-5 staff at HMP Berwyn who have resigned, transferred, been dismissed, or have re-graded since its opening is provided in the table below:Table 1: Number of band 2-5 staff at HMP Berwyn who have resigned, transferred, been dismissed, or re-graded, February - September 2017 Headcount of staff Resignations28Dismissals~Transfers~Re-graded32~ denotes suppressed values of 2 or fewer or other values which would allow values of 2 orfewer to be derived by subtraction. Low numbers are suppressed to prevent disclosure inaccordance with the Data Protection Act, 1998. Across Public Sector Prisons there were a total of 31,762 full time equivalent staff in post at Prison Service Establishments as at 30 September 2017.

Ministry of Justice: Capita

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many fines Capita has paid under any contract with the Ministry of Justice in each year since 2010; and why each of those fines was imposed.

Rory Stewart: Contracts do not include fines and penalties as these are not recognised in English Law. The term used is ‘Financial remedies’ and this is what the PQ has been interpreted to request.  Providers achieve the majority of their contractual targets. However, we will not hesitate to take action where standards fall short. Contracts set out a strict performance framework, consisting of prescriptive performance targets. Failure by the provider to meet performance targets results in performance points and, potentially, financial remedies being applied against the provider. The total value of financial remedies imposed for each financial year has been provided and is included in the below table. Figures are only provided for those year where the contract was in effect. Capita - Electronic Monitoring Services 2010/2011 2011/2012 2012/2013 2013/2014 2014/2015 2015/2016£15,4202016/2017£1,4002017/2018£5,500Total£22,320 Capita - Interpreting Services 2010/2011 2011/2012 2012/2013£14,4022013/2014£27,0732014/2015£11,1572015/2016£4,0462016/2017£3,8502017/2018Contract ceasedTotal£60,528

Ministry of Justice: Procurement

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 25 January 2018 to Question 123549, on Ministry of Justice: Procurement, what those contracts are; and what the value of each such contract is.

Rory Stewart: The attached table details each contract held by the Ministry of Justice with strategic suppliers and the total value. All contracts are awarded as per EU Public Contract Regulations following comprehensive processes as required. We have robust measures in place to monitor the performance of our contracts. Non-commercially sensitive information on contracts worth over £10,000 with MOJ and its agencies is published on Contracts Finder (https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder) and is publicly available.



127515 TABLE
(Word Document, 25.17 KB)

Gov Facility Services

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether trades unions and other employee organisations were consulted on the establishment of Gov Facility Services Limited.

Rory Stewart: Consultations meetings have taken place with trade unions and other employee organizations over the past 3 weeks. We have been working closely with all interested parties, to ensure that the prison facilities management services continue to be delivered and prisons operate normally.

Gov Facility Services

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether employees of Gov Facility Services Limited are covered by TUPE regulations.

Rory Stewart: Some Government Facility Services Limited employees are likely to be covered by TUPE though this assessment can only be undertaken at the point of transfer.

Gov Facility Services

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether Gov Facility Services Limited is classified as an arms-length body of his Department; and who is planned to sit on the board of directors of that body.

Rory Stewart: Gov Facility Services Limited will be an arms-length body of the Ministry of Justice. The Board has initially been drawn from existing senior Civil Servants within the Ministry of Justice who have experience of operating a commercial business, prison sector experience and related property experience. It will also consist with an independent board member that is a senior Civil Servant not directly connected with the service who has considerable experience within the justice sector.

Gov Facility Services

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the amount of financial liabilities was which was taken on by his Department when forming Gov Facility Services Limited.

Rory Stewart: No historic financial liabilities were taken over by the Ministry of Justice and/or Gov Facility Services Limited from Carillion. The Department has incurred costs when forming Gov Facility Service Limited which were covered by the approved contingency plan. The only financial liabilities created by the agreement between Carillion and GFSL relate to the purchase of plant and equipment owned by Carillion, which is currently being assessed/valued.

Amey

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 7 February 2018 to Question 125504, on Amey, what was meant by the statement that the maintenance contract with Amey will be reset; and whether any changes to the contract with that company have been made.

Rory Stewart: To date no changes have been made to the contract with Amey. Our immediate priority is to stabilise and improve service delivery under the existing arrangements. The focus of the reset is on securing improvements to the operational delivery of the contracts with Amey including through strengthened contract management and oversight.

Amey and Carillion

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which prisons contracted out facilities management to (a) Carillion (b) Amey.

Rory Stewart: Facilities management services were contracted at the following prisons: a) Carillion Establishmentsb) Amey EstablishmentsBlantyre HouseDeerboltCookham WoodDurhamDover (Now closed)FranklandEast Sutton ParkHolme HouseFordKirklivington GrangeLewesLow NewtonMaidstoneBuckley HallRochesterGarthElmelyHaveriggStanford HillHindleySwalesideKennetAylesburyKirkhamBullingdonLancaster FarmsGrendonLiverpoolHaslar (Now closed)ManchesterHuntercombePrestonAlbanyRiselyParkhurstStyalSpringhillThorn CrossWinchesterWymottWoodhillAskham GrangeBristolEverthorpeChannings WoodFull SuttonDartmoorHatfieldEastwood ParkHullErlestokeLeedsExeterLindholmeGuys MarshMoorlandLeyhillNew HallPortlandWakefieldThe VerneWealstunBedfordWetherbyBureWoldsChelmsfordFoston HallHighpointGarteeHollesley BayGlen Parva (Now closed)LittleheyLeicesterThe MountLincolnNorwichLong LartinWarren HillMorton HallWaylandNorth Sea CampWhitemoorNottinghamBelmarshOnleyColdingleyRanbyDownviewStockenFelthamSudburyHighdownWhattonHolloway (Now closed)BrinsfordPentonvilleDrake HallSendFeatherstoneWandsworthHewellWormwood ScrubsStafford Stoke Heath Swinfen Hall Werrington Cardiff Swansea Usk Prescoed Berwyn

Amey and Carillion

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many recorded breaches of contracts by (a) Carillion and (b) Amey there were in financial year 2016-17.

Rory Stewart: The Ministry of Justice records defects of the contract where there have been deficiencies in the service delivered by contractors. These are flagged to the contractor so that they can correct them in a timely manner. We keep all our contracts under a robust monitoring system. Defects have been reported to Carillion 578 and Amey 299 times since the start of the contract in June 2015.

Department for Work and Pensions

Prince's Trust

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to introduce the Princes Trust to young people to help them acquire employment.

Alok Sharma: Jobcentre Plus already has a partnership with the Prince’s Trust which it formed in 2007. Last year, the Prince’s Trust helped almost 60,000 people and they estimate that about 30-40% of referrals were from Jobcentre Plus. In addition, our new programme of intensive support for 18-21 year olds was introduced in April 2017, and is being rolled-out in line with the roll-out schedule for Universal Credit Full Service. As part of this programme, claimants are referred to tailored support drawn from a wide menu of locally available provision, which includes Prince’s Trust programmes.

Jobcentres: Glasgow

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of customers who attend Easterhouse Jobcentre have been sent a letter informing them of the upcoming closure of the premises.

Alok Sharma: Since 15 January 2018, a letter has been issued to every Easterhouse Jobcentre customer on a Work Coach caseload about the closure of the office. The closure has also been communicated verbally to every customer who has visited the office. Posters have also been on display around the jobcentre about the closure and shared with relevant organisations and stakeholders including GP surgeries. Posters have also been on display in the Medical Assessment Centre at Cadogan Street in Glasgow to alert people attending medicals of all the impending closures and mergers. Finally, in addition to extensive local media coverage, our partner organisations including local Citizens Advice Scotland offices and housing associations have been kept fully informed about the closure.

Carillion: Insolvency

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Minister for the Cabinet Office of 15 January 2018, on Carillion, if she will place the annual reports of the 14 pension schemes forming part of the Carillion Group in the Library.

Guy Opperman: Holding answer received on 20 February 2018



Government Ministers do not have access to the annual reports of the pension schemes forming part of the Carillion Group. This would be a matter for the pension schemes’ trustees.The trustees of defined benefit schemes are required to let members know that the scheme’s annual report and accounts are available on request within seven months of the end of each scheme year. The report must include a copy of the audited accounts and auditor's statement, details of the trustees and how they are appointed and removed, an investment report, including how the investments have performed and the actuary's certification of the adequacy of the schedule of contributions.

Universal Credit: Employment

Mr Alan Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether universal credit recipients who have received a provisional offer of employment but are undergoing security checks prior to being approved for the role must continue applying for other employment opportunities.

Alok Sharma: Claimants in receipt of Universal Credit are expected to fulfil the work related requirements appropriate to their current circumstances. For a claimant with a potential job start that is not immediate, this could include continuing to look for alternative or temporary work that fits with their expected start date, where the Work Coach and claimant agree this is reasonable.

Automation

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of the increase in the number automated jobs on the potential merits of introducing a universal basic income.

Alok Sharma: As set out in the Industrial Strategy White Paper, this Government is determined that everyone should benefit from the changes that new technologies will continue to bring. What we have seen throughout history is that technological change has delivered more jobs, and we now have record employment. There may be challenging transitions to make for some as work changes, but the future lies in support that promotes work and is increasingly tailored to the needs of the individual, not a single payment for everyone. The Government has not made as assessment of the impact of the increase in automation. However we believe that Universal Credit is the right approach for a changing economy, because it simplifies the benefit system, targets resources according to need, and pays people flexibly as their working circumstances change, and ensures that work always pays.

Mortgages: Glasgow South

Stewart Malcolm McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in Glasgow South constituency are in receipt of Support for Mortgage Interest payments in the latest period for which figures are available.

Kit Malthouse: The Department does not hold the data requested. The data needed to make robust estimates of the number of recipients of Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) at geographies smaller than Government Office Region is not available to Departmental analysts.

Mortgages: Kilmarnock and Loudoun

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of people in Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency who will be directly affected by changing support for mortgage interest from a benefit to a Government loan.

Kit Malthouse: The Department does not hold the data requested. The data needed to make robust estimates of the number of recipients of Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) at geographies smaller than Government Office Region is not available to Departmental analysts.

Mortgages: Interest Payments

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the cost to the public purse is of contracting Serco to advise people on the provisions of the Loans for Mortgage Interest Regulations 2017.

Kit Malthouse: Serco have been appointed as an external supplier to offer information (as opposed to advice) to new and existing SMI customers. The contract was awarded following an open competition and is valued at £4.5 million over 18 months (from July 2017 – Dec 2018). Introduction of the SMI loan will save over £160 million per year to the taxpayer, while continuing to fully achieve the policy objective of supporting homeowners who might otherwise face the risk of repossession. The Government also thought it prudent to have clear separation between information provision about SMI loans and the Department.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty: Cotswolds

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the timetable is for his Department to consider the application of the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty to become a National Park.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Natural England is the statutory body that considers cases for national park and area of outstanding natural beauty designations. Natural England has not received a formal request to consider the case for the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty to become a national park.

Food: Production

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to encourage the sale of food closer to its source of production.

George Eustice: In October 2017, the Government launched a new web market that food producers can use to promote their products to public sector bodies to increase public procurement of nutritious local food. We have also set out our intention to publish a consultation paper on the future of domestic agriculture policy later this spring.

Plants: Conservation

Sir Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that effective biosecurity measures are in place to protect flora in the UK.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: We are committed to doing all we can to prevent plant pests and diseases reaching our borders and to build the resilience of our flora and other trees and plants. Our approach, led by the Government Chief Plant Health Officer, involves the systematic, proactive screening of potential new and emerging risks, which are listed in the Plant Health Risk Register. There are regulations on importing plants and products from outside the UK where it is known that certain pests or pathogens are present. These are updated regularly in response to new evidence, such as that published by the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organisation. We are working collaboratively with the EU and the broader international community, industry, NGOs, landowners and the public to reduce the risks of pests and diseases entering the country and the impact of newly established pests, including substantial programmes of work on, for example, the oak processionary moth and ash dieback.

Home Office

Asylum: Children

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to table AS 08 Q of the Quarterly Immigration Statistics, January to March 2017, published on 25 May 2017, how many applications for asylum made during Quarter 1 of 2017 were made by unaccompanied children who arrived in the UK (a) under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016, (b) through the Dublin III Regulation and (c) by their own initiative.

Caroline Nokes: On 30 November, the Government published data on the numbers of children transferred to the UK from the Calais camp clearance under both the Dublin III Regulation and section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016. The data can be accessed here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/transfers-of-children-to-the-uk-from-the-calais-operation-november-2017The Government has committed to publishing regular updates on the number of those transferred under the Dublin III Regulation. This data will be published in the coming months. Eurostat the EU’s statistics agency regularly publishes Member State figures, which can be found at:http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Asylum_quarterly_report. The Home Office publishes a range of data on asylum claims from unaccompanied children which can be found at the following link. This data relates to all unaccompanied children who have claimed asylum in the UK and does not provide a breakdown depending on the child’s method of entry. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-july-to-september-2017/how-many-people-do-we-grant-asylum-or-protection-to

Home Office: Brexit

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which EU legislation within her Department's responsibilities will (a) be incorporated into UK law through the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill and (b) require to be amended under powers in that Bill.

Caroline Nokes: In the Government White Paper on the Repeal Bill [‘Legislating for the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union’], published on 30 March 2017, we estimated around 800 - 1,000 EU-exit related Statutory Instruments will be required to make the necessary changes to UK law as a whole.

Home Office: Sign Language

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department takes to provide (a) information on its services in British Sign Language (BSL) and (b) correspondence in BSL to people whose principal language is BSL.

Victoria Atkins: The Department publishes information on its services on GOV.UK. Documents we publish can be requested in an alternative format, in line with the Equalities Act 2010, and this includes British Sign Language.When hosting staff events we provide a British Sign Language signer where one has been requested in advance.We have existing frameworks in place to provide communication support services which includes BSL Interpreters. In circumstances where this service is not suitable for the individuals requirements we have arrangements in place to provide alternative support though the Crown Commercial Service framework agreements.We ask our customers if they require any reasonable adjustments and aim to meet their bespoke needs.

Licensing Laws

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the success rate of appeals against decisions taken by local authorities' licensing committees to limit the supply of cheap, super-strength alcohol has been in the last 12 months.

Victoria Atkins: The Government does not collect information relating to the success rate of appeals against decisions taken by local authorities’ licensing committees to limit the supply of cheap, super-strength alcohol.

Daily Express: Freedom of Information

David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many freedom of information requests from Mr Giles Sheldrick of the Daily Express are outstanding.

Caroline Nokes: I shall write to my Hon. Friend with the information, subject to Mr Sheldrick’s consent.

Serbia: Visas

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has make an assessment of the cost of a visa from Serbia; and what plans she has to extend the length of those visas.

Caroline Nokes: Border, immigration and nationality fees are reviewed on an annual basis. The current visa fees are set out in the Immigration and Nationality (Fees) Regulations 2017. These fees are paid by all applicants, including Serbian nationals. The length of a UK visa can vary and is based on the type of visa issued and what the applicant plans to do in the UK, not the nationality of the applicant. Visas are an important part of securing the U.K. Border against national security, illegal immigration and criminality. We keep our visa system and products under regular review.

Hunting: Licensing

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many licences have been issued under the Animal (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 for research involving (a) deer and (b) registered stag hunts in each of the last five years.

Mr Ben Wallace: Over the last five years the Home Office has granted two project licences for research involving deer under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. One licence was granted in 2014 and one was granted in 2016. No licences have been granted for research involving registered stag hunts over the same period.

Visas: Fees and Charges

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much revenue UK Visas and Immigration received from priority visa application fees in the past five years.

Caroline Nokes: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given to the Hon. Member for Glasgow North West on the 26th June 2017, UIN 41.

Cybercrime: North Korea

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with officials from Europol on the progress of that organisation's investigations into possible North Korean involvement in the WannaCry cyber attack in May 2017; and what steps she is taking to support those investigations.

Mr Ben Wallace: The investigation into the WannaCry cyber attack is ongoing. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) assesses it is highly likely that North Korean actors known as the Lazarus Group were behind the attack. The NCSC and the National Crime Agency are working with international law enforcement and industry partners to find those responsible and protect victims.

Domestic Violence Protection Orders

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of Domestic Violence Protection Orders have been approved in court in England and Wales in each of the last five years.

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Domestic Violence Protection Orders have been approved in England and Wales in each of the past five years.

Victoria Atkins: Domestic Violence Protection Orders (DVPOs) were rolled out across all 43 police forces in England Wales from 8 March 2014. 3,337 DVPOS were applied for and 3,072 DVPOs granted in England and Wales between 8 March 2014 - 31December 2014, according to the DVPO ‘One Year On’ evaluation report. 3,951 DVPOS were granted in England and Wales from April 2015 – March 2016 according to Magistrates Courts’ case management data. 3,817 DVPOS were applied for and 3,698 DVPOs granted in England and Wales from July 2016 – July 2017 according to data collected by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS).

Home Office: Electric Vehicles

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many vehicles in her Department's fleet are (a) electric vehicles and (b) ultra-low emission vehicles.

Victoria Atkins: The Home Office are committed to meeting the Government Buying Standards target for transport by 2020.https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sustainable-procurement-the-gbs-for-transport-vehicles/government-buying-standards-for-transport-2017

Marriage Certificates

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2018 to Question 124619 what discussions her Department has held with the sponsors of the (i) Registration of Marriage Bill [Lords] and (ii) Registration of Marriage (No 2) Bill; and what the outcome of those discussions was.

Caroline Nokes: As the Registration of Marriage Bill [ Lords ] and the Registration of Marriage (No.2) Bill are subject to Parliamentary proceedings it would not be appropriate to comment on specific discussions with the sponsors of these Bills. The Government is supportive of the aims of both these Bills in bringing forward reform to the system of marriage registration.

Radicalism

Naz Shah: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department provided letters on behalf of the Making a Stand campaign led by INSPIRE (a) nationally and (b) through local prevent officers; and if she will publish correspondence, including electronic communication, between her Department and INSPIRE on that campaign.

Mr Ben Wallace: The Home Office invited the Local Authority Prevent Coordinator network, along with members of their communities, to attend the launch of the Making a Stand campaign, which the Home Secretary attended.

Asylum: English Language

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Minister for the Home Department, how many asylum seekers do not have access to free classes in English as a second language.

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Minister for the Home Department, how many asylum seekers have access to 10 hours a week of free classes in English as a second language.

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Minister for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the minimum necessary standard of spoken and written English for a refugee to integrate in the UK.

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Minister for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the minimum total teaching time in English as a second language that is required to allow asylum seekers to achieve adequate standards of spoken and written English.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office recognises the importance of English language for refugee integration. Refugees are able to access English language classes through the Department for Education’s Adult Education Budget, in the same way as someone from the UK. An additional £10m was provided to provide more English language classes for refugees resettled under the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme. Not all those who make their own way to the UK to seek asylum will be found to be refugees and nearly all will have travelled through other safe countries to get to the UK. This is why support towards integration is offered only when asylum seekers are granted refugee status. The Home Office does not fund English classes for asylum seekers. Asylum seekers aged 19 or over become eligible for a 50% contribution to the costs of English language classes through the Adult Education Budget, when they have been legally in the UK for longer than six months and are awaiting a decision on their asylum claim or have failed in their claim but have been granted support under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. No data is held nationally on the numbers of asylum seekers accessing free English classes. Those learning English as a second language, including asylum seekers and refugees, are individuals with different starting points of English language proficiency who will learn English at different rates, meaning the number of teaching hours to progress English language capability will vary considerably. The level of English required to enable refugee integration will also vary by individual, however, the Home Office considers ESOL entry level three to be the standard to aim for, as employment opportunities are greater for those with this level of English language capability.

Domestic Violence: Greater Manchester

Jo Platt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many recorded incidents of domestic violence there were in (a) Leigh constituency and (b) Wigan Borough in each of the last ten years.

Victoria Atkins: The Office for National Statistics publishes information on the number of incidents of domestic abuse recorded by the police.This information is published by police force area in a cross government statistical bulletin ‘Domestic abuse in England and Wales: year ending March 2017’, which can be found at the link below. Data are not available at the constituency or borough level.https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/bulletins/domesticabuseinenglandandwales/yearendingmarch2017

HM Treasury

Sanctions

Helen Goodman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many suspected breaches of financial sanctions were reported to the Treasury’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) in 2017; what the value was of those breaches; and how many investigations into breaches, by sanctions regime, have (a) been opened and (b) are ongoing since new powers to impose penalties under the Policing and Crime Act entered into force.

John Glen: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 08 February 2018.The correct answer should have been:

A total of 118 suspected breach cases were reported to Treasury’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) during the calendar year of 2017. The approximate aggregate value of these suspected breaches was £117million. As of April 2017, a total of 84 suspected breaches have been reported to OFSI since OFSI gained the ability to impose monetary penalties under the Policing and Crime Act 2017- I am unable to comment further on ongoing assessments.A total of 133 suspected breach cases were reported to Treasury’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) during the calendar year of 2017. The approximate aggregate value of these suspected breaches as reported to OFSI was £1.4bn. As some of these cases are still under investigation this total may change as further information comes to light. As of April 2017, a total of 103 suspected breaches have been reported to OFSI since OFSI gained the ability to impose monetary penalties under the Policing and Crime Act 2017- I am unable to comment further on ongoing assessments.

John Glen: A total of 118 suspected breach cases were reported to Treasury’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) during the calendar year of 2017. The approximate aggregate value of these suspected breaches was £117million. As of April 2017, a total of 84 suspected breaches have been reported to OFSI since OFSI gained the ability to impose monetary penalties under the Policing and Crime Act 2017- I am unable to comment further on ongoing assessments.A total of 133 suspected breach cases were reported to Treasury’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) during the calendar year of 2017. The approximate aggregate value of these suspected breaches as reported to OFSI was £1.4bn. As some of these cases are still under investigation this total may change as further information comes to light. As of April 2017, a total of 103 suspected breaches have been reported to OFSI since OFSI gained the ability to impose monetary penalties under the Policing and Crime Act 2017- I am unable to comment further on ongoing assessments.

Cabinet Office

Electronic Voting: Pilot Schemes

Sir Michael Fallon: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what plans his Department has to work with the devolved administrations on their proposed pilots of online voting.

Chloe Smith: The Government engages on a regular basis with the Scottish Government and Welsh Government on a range of matters relating to elections. The Government currently has no plans to pilot electronic voting at polls for which it is responsible, although we are interested to hear about the responses received by the Scottish Government and Welsh Government on this issue.

Electronic Voting: Pilot Schemes

Sir Michael Fallon: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps would be required for a local council in England to initiate a pilot of online voting.

Chloe Smith: The Government currently has no plans to pilot online voting and is committed in its 2017 manifesto to retain the traditional method of voting by pencil and paper. Section 10 of the Representation of the People Act 2000 enables electoral pilot schemes to be held at local level elections in England and Wales. Under section 10, a local authority that wishes to hold a pilot must submit proposals for a scheme to the Secretary of State who will decide whether or not to approve the scheme. If the proposals are approved, the Secretary of State will make an order making the necessary provision to implement the scheme.

Public Sector: Pay

Alison Thewliss: What recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on reviewing public sector pay.

Oliver Dowden: Public Sector workers are amongst the most talented and hardworking people in our society and we believe they should be fairly rewarded.As the Chancellor’s budget statement reconfirmed, we are moving away from a 1% public sector average pay award to a more flexible approach.Proposals will be issued later this year.